Garage versus basement battery install. Basement worth the extra effort????

[cdherman]

OK, me again. Sorry, but I am set to order10-15$ of stuff and wanting to get it right.

How much value is there in placing these indoor heated EG4 batteries in the basement? Garage is unheated, uncooled. It can freeze in the garage, though seldom. During the heat of the summer the garage is already often close or over 100f and with the Flexboss howling in there, it will be more (going to also have to install a temperature actuated roof vent I think......)

I have settled on the garage for the Flexboss for sure (noise/heat) and Gridboss probably there too. Plan to put a large gutter/raceway to connect everything.

Question is where to put the batteries. I can put the gutter and the Inverters pretty much wherever I want on the exterior house wall, which is adjacent to the basement on the inside.

2/0 copper ain't cheap, but we are talking maybe 4' versus 12'. But I am contemplating 2 battery units. With the EG4 bats, that's 8 runs of 2/0 copper. 8x12 = 96 feet. OK adds up. And I would probably run things in metal conduit since I am a cautious guy. More work.

Hang the heated units in the garage, under the gutter and the wires are much shorter and conduit much easier.

But the batteries are going to need heat once in a while and they are going to be hotter on average for sure.

Thoughts????

 

[Quattrohead]

Mini split for the win, it will cool the garage in the summer and warm it in the winter. They take so little energy to achieve this it is surprising.
In the summer you can keep it at 78 to 80° and in the winter you could keep it at 50 for your own comfort as much as anything.

 

[Madcodger]

Mini split for the win, it will cool the garage in the summer and warm it in the winter. They take so little energy to achieve this it is surprising.
In the summer you can keep it at 78 to 80° and in the winter you could keep it at 50 for your own comfort as much as anything.

With respect to my Florida friend who offers great advice on many things, I must caution about using a mini-split to heat the garage, even to 50, in a Kansas City winter. Heat pumps are wonderful and we use them here in Maine (I've written much about that on the forum), but when the temps really drop and there's little sun, even I stop using the garage heat pump amd resort to fossil fuels, and my garage has R43 walls, R65 ceiling, R17 doors, and no windows. The drain on the system is just too much to handle, as heat pumps are much less efficient at heating than cooling, with efficiency (COP) plummeting at very cold temps. So, I would not personally put the batteries in the garage UNLESS they had their own heat. That, however, is an option. Perhaps something like the outdoor-capable EG4 Powerpro wall mount batteries could work? That might allow you to make use of the garage without fear of battery damage from cold charging. The shorter you can keep the cables between batteries and inverters, the better.

 

[Q-Dog]

Do you need heated batteries in the basement? Does the basement freeze?

 

[rogerheflin]

I am near you. 20min West of Legends.

My garage is well insulated (R19) and still gets down to freezing on really cold days, so the batteries would not be able to consistently charge during the winter without some sort of heating.

My garage also gets very hot, and heat is the #1 issue that speeds up aging of the batteries. The tests indicate that typical outdoor temps we have this week significantly degrade the batteries (ie reduce the cycle count by 2x or more).

My batteries are in the basement and when I did not have my basement conditioned it never got below 40F and even in the winter it never got much above 75F.

I have all of mine installed in the basement (batteries and inverter). The AC wire is lower current and cheaper to run long distances. The units do make some noise but from upstairs right over the units they are barely audible. It would probably be better to install all of it in the basement and if required add some sort of noise control if the noise was too much.

 

[Michigan Solar and ESS]

OK, me again. Sorry, but I am set to order10-15$ of stuff and wanting to get it right.

How much value is there in placing these indoor heated EG4 batteries in the basement? Garage is unheated, uncooled. It can freeze in the garage, though seldom. During the heat of the summer the garage is already often close or over 100f and with the Flexboss howling in there, it will be more (going to also have to install a temperature actuated roof vent I think......)

I have settled on the garage for the Flexboss for sure (noise/heat) and Gridboss probably there too. Plan to put a large gutter/raceway to connect everything.

Question is where to put the batteries. I can put the gutter and the Inverters pretty much wherever I want on the exterior house wall, which is adjacent to the basement on the inside.

2/0 copper ain't cheap, but we are talking maybe 4' versus 12'. But I am contemplating 2 battery units. With the EG4 bats, that's 8 runs of 2/0 copper. 8x12 = 96 feet. OK adds up. And I would probably run things in metal conduit since I am a cautious guy. More work.

Hang the heated units in the garage, under the gutter and the wires are much shorter and conduit much easier.

But the batteries are going to need heat once in a while and they are going to be hotter on average for sure.

Thoughts????

I opted for the basement. The service is there, so it was the easy way. The toughest part was getting the 300lb batteries down there but we figured it out.

 

[BarracudaBob]

The basement is an advantage to you. Local fire department would prefer the garage.
Best to have it by the service. If you are prone or possibility of flooding I would put it up on something.

 

[SparkyJJO]

My stuff is in my basement because 1) that is where my electrical panel is and 2) my garage is frigid in the winter and an oven in the summer.

 

[Quattrohead]

indoor heated EG4 batteries in the basement? Garage is unheated, uncooled. It can freeze in the garage, though seldom.

I'm going to stick to my "in garage with a mini split", even in the winter you only need to keep the garage above freezing and the batteries have heaters anyway. Job done.

 

[HRTKD]

My opinion is that the basement has the lowest hassle factory. No need for additional heating/cooling.

The inverter and batteries might heat the garage enough in the winter that additional heating isn't necessary. But I wouldn't want to implement it that way just to find out that the garage does get below 32°F. At the other end, if the garage is already at 100°F, then the inverter and battery is going to push that even higher, which warrants implementing a cooling solution.

Most batteries with internal heating pads will turn on the heat only when there is a charge current (when there is sun). Based on what I see in the EG4 spec sheet, their method is to keep the cells warm all the time. This is the method that I prefer as it allows charging as soon as the sun comes up and the panels are producing enough voltage.

 

[cdherman]

Thanks to all the replies. I think in sum, its best to put the bats in the basement. NO WAY should we heat or cool the garage. It has zero insulation and is wide open to the rafters, so the mini split ideas are a dead end (and I like mini splits, have one in my basement, long story).....

Better temp control with less heating etc. And the heat from the batteries added to the basement in the summer can be removed with the central AC, which is new and efficient.

The EG4 is all proud of its dual 2/0 cables -- but it also mean 2x the number of fuses......